2112
by GtrGeek29
Summary: In a time where everything is controlled by the Solar Federation, the Priests, the Plan, and the Glorious Red Star, one man finds a time better than his, but this time is forbidden by the Priests. A story based on the Rush song, a fight against opression.
1. Chapter 1

2112

2112

**CHAPTER 1**

I was born, just as the others were born. I was taught. I was told that I was being taught well, and I believed. I believed as I was taught to believe in the Priests. The Priests decided all, and have always decided all. However, it was not always this way. I had always wondered what it was like before the reign of the Priests. What was it like to be independent? What was the experience of deciding for oneself what he may or may not do; that which the Priests had deemed sinful and horrid?

In this present time, the Priests had made it clear that thinking for one; that acting in a way that would only please oneself, and not Man as a whole, is greedy and unfit in their ideas: the Plan. The Plan was that which was meant to be the way the world was forever. The Plan plotted out everything and everyone. The Plan decided who was and who wasn't, who could and who couldn't, and told what was to be deemed glorious apart from that which was to be deemed wretched.

But it was not always this way.

The Priests had spoken that the time before them, the time I wondered about, was a horrible time. A time when man killed his fellow man, a time when evil reigned, a time when lust and avarice ran amok, causing man to turn on his fellow man. They taught that they watched this horrible time, until they finally decided to take action. In the year 2062, they teach, the Priests had built up enough followers to engage in a war against the evils of the old time. The Priests won, and the world gave way to a new beginning, one which obeyed the Glorious Red Star. All planets were united into one single union: the Solar Federation. They all listened and obeyed as the Priests announced their plan, they watched with calm eyes and unmoved hearts as the plan was carved into marble and laid in place of great monuments which man had enjoyed once upon a time. The Priests say that Man of this time was grateful for their gift of peace. They say that Man bowed willingly, that only the evil and the greedy fought back. They explain how the evil was silenced, but they explain in great vagueness.

The Priests handle everything now. Greed is washed from the earth, and no man even considers committing crime against his fellow man. However, the Plan does not allow for the sickly, the deformed, or the "unfit" to exist in harmony with the "normal". They say that these "unfit" ones are gateways to the world bowing down to evil and falling back into an eternal hell. Many times I have wondered, how can we deny our fellow man life? But to question the Priests' actions is punishable by horrible means, so I have never spoken my questions aloud. I have always sat in silence in the corner.

I work just as my fellow man works. We work everyday from one hour after sunrise to one hour after sunset. This is our day. We work continuously, repetitively, and without question. After your years of learning, you are sent to work. You do not question your work. You just do your work. To question is to sin greatly. And as you work all your life, you grow old. And once the Age of Fulfillment is reached, you are brought behind closed doors, and are personally decommissioned by the Priests themselves. This is a great honor, as few get to meet the Priests face-to-face, and only one male every ten years is chosen to begin training as a Priest. He will train until he is a mere ten years until the Age of Fulfillment, but he is never decommissioned. A Priest will work his whole life in his demanding job, and that's the way that it is. That's the way it has always been. That's the way it will always be.

The Priests do will it that way.


	2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2

**CHAPTER 2**

In this time, there are few enjoyments of life. These enjoyments which are permitted by the Priests are scarce and gratefully accepted when offered. One such enjoyment is the Social Hour, offered once every month. At this time, man is allowed to stop his work for one hour during the day and meet with his fellow man to exchange greetings, converse, and joke and laugh. This time is loved and used completely by all, for speaking during work is strictly forbidden. The time after work is only to consume your late meal, and then you must go to bed. Anyone caught awake after their late meal is punished, and the punishment for anyone caught conversing after their late meal is unspeakable.

The Priests say that this is because conversing freely was one of the main causes for the downfall of Man into evil in the old time. They say that speaking with one another whenever one wills to speak to his fellow man allows for the opportunity to make evil. I have never understood quite what they meant, but I have not questioned. To question is to sin.

Another enjoyment is the Free Day, which comes once every two months. On this day, man is allowed to wander wherever he pleases within the boundaries set by the Priests. Conversing is strictly forbidden, however. This time is meant for man to take in the beauty of the nature that the Priests worked so hard to spare from the old time. My favorite beauty is the waterfall. I spend most of my Free Days there. It is a very tall cliff, off of which water rushes, down into a small pond below it. You can walk behind the waterfall and sit and ponder its beauty. The beautiful blue water, crashing down and causing ripples in the placid pond. It is truly a sight.

But one day, I found a treasure. I was walking around behind the waterfall, down into the cave that was behind it. I was going deeper into the cave than I had ever gone, and suddenly I tripped and fell, and heard a noise. It was an unpleasant noise, much unlike the noises which the Priests approve for Man's ears. I stood and looked at what had caused my stumble. It was an odd wooden object. With a shape like that of an eight with a long stick at the top. On top of this stick was a small rectangle, with six pegs sticking out, three on each side. The pegs stuck into the rectangle, through the back, and connected to six wires, which ran down the stick at the top of the eight, over a small circle, and into another rectangle, where the wires were fastened down. I tapped the body of this object, and the wires vibrated, causing another odd sound. I then proceeded to pluck just one wire, and found that each one produced a different sound.

Over time, I started spending ever Free Day behind the cave with the object. I had looked inside the hole and found many words inscribed on it. Many were scratched out and unreadable, but one word was "GUITARS". I had decided to name this object the guitar. As I spent time with the guitar, I started to experiment with turning the pegs, and noticed how they changed the pitch of the wires when they were plucked. I eventually decided on one standard way to keep the pitches of the wires, and started pressing down on the wires that lay horizontally on the stick. I named the stick a "neck" and the horizontal wires "frets". I learned how when I pressed a fret and plucked a wire, the pitch of the wire changed, and I didn't have to turn a peg to change it. I then experimented with pressing a fret on more than one wire, and plucking on all the wires I was pressing. I wrote my own music, music unapproved by the Priests, but it was still a great discovery. I was very excited to share my discovery with the world. Just imagine the praise I would receive, the applause that would surround me as I presented my contribution to my fellow man. My fellow man would now be allowed to make his own music! There was no longer a need for the Priests to spend hours of their precious time listening to music to deem it worthy or unworthy. Man could now make his own. I had helped not only Man, but had also lightened the load of the Priests!

I had but one option: to share my discovery with the Priests.


	3. Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3

**CHAPTER 3**

Walking through the city on my Free Day after my decision to tell the Priests of my discovery of the guitar, I am overwhelmed with an incredible sense of pride in the fact that I am about to make a huge contribution to Man. I am sure that Man will accept my contribution and thank me for it; I may even be rewarded graciously for my find.

The Priests reside in the Temples of Syrinx. The Temples are guarded heavily and few are allowed in. The Temples are great structures. They dwarf any other building that the common man resides in. Their gargantuan towers cast long shadows at sunset. The Temples are often compared to a cluster of castles, and it is rumored that they are the castles of all the evil rulers and tyrants of the old time. The Temples are made of a dark grey brick, with few windows in each of the many towers.

The guard at the gate stops me and speaks.

"Who is this, who wishes to enter the sacred Temples of Syrinx?" He says.

"I am but a lowly worker." I reply.

"Then why do you _dare_ approach the Temples? Are you unaware of the fact that the Great Priests are working hard on the problems that Man is faced with? Are you unmoved by the fact that they are extremely busy and have no time for lowly workers such as yourself? What is your business here?" He asks.

"Please, sir," I reply. "I have made an extremely important discovery and a great contribution to the life of Man! My discovery is one for you, for me, for the Priests themselves, and for every other man! Please, good sir, if you would allow me access to share my great discovery with the Priests, I would be greatly appreciative of your graciousness."

"If your discovery is as great as you describe it, I suppose that you should be allowed to see the Priests." He responds. He then opens the gate, and leads me inside the Temples. I follow him through a great door, with many inscriptions on it and great and beautiful designs carved into and around it. He leads me through a hall, with many pictures on the walls of past Priests. The next hall is an amazing sight.

This hall is filled with the Priests' rumored computers; their amazing computers which are deemed unfit for man to use, for the technology is too great for him to comprehend. There are rows and rows of Priests working feverishly on their computers. I sneak a glance at one of the screens and on the screen are many lines of coding. It is coding in some language which I do not understand, but I do immediately understand why the common man is not allowed to see this technology.

At the end of the hall is a table, where ten Priests are seated. They are the oldest, the wisest, and the most experienced of the Priests. They are all grey-haired, and the wrinkles that run along their faces reflect the cracks of a dried riverbed. I look up at the Priest seated in the middle, and I explain to him my reason for standing before him.

"I know that coming before you is unusual and very rare, but I have made a discovery, and I believe that I must share it with you!" I exclaim.

"What is your discovery?" The Priest questions, with an unmoved expression.

"It is something that I call a guitar," I explain. "It will allow man to make his own music! Allow me to demonstrate for you." At this point, I proceeded to perform a song I had written especially for this demonstration. As I finished playing, I looked up at the Priests, waiting for their applause, but none ever came. Instead, the head Priest responded with this,

"We were aware of this 'discovery' before you came. This 'guitar' is nothing new to the world. In fact, it was the main cause of the downfall of Man in the old time. This object is nothing more than a waste of time and it is no longer needed nor wanted by society. It must be destroyed immediately." At this point, the Priest seized my guitar, and I watched in shocked horror as it was crushed beneath his foot. My most precious item! I had spent months learning the art of that guitar! All my work, gone! No applause, no praise… just dismissal of my discovery.

"Now, leave. We have much work to do, and you are using up precious time. This guitar has been deemed unfit for Man, and it does not fit the Plan." The Priest said. I was then escorted out of the Temples by the same guard who escorted me in. As I followed him out, I could not help but wonder aloud,

"What is wrong with this? How could this thing of beauty – an instrument of _music_ – be the downfall of Man?!" I continued muttering these questions until the guard asked what I was saying. Fearing punishment, I simply responded by telling him it was nothing of importance.

As I passed through the gate, and walked away from the Temples of Syrinx, I could not help but cry. I had thought that I had made a great discovery, and would be praised and rewarded. But my idea was shunned. I was told that it did not fit the Plan. I did not go to work the next day.


	4. Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4

**CHAPTER 4**

After wandering home through the dimly lit streets after my failed presentation of my discovery to the Priests, I collapsed on my bed and fell into a deep and fitful sleep. I begged for the dream to allow me to escape away from this horrible world and show me what it is like to think for oneself.

I was soon dreaming. I dreamt I was at the top of a spiral staircase and I was confronted by an old and wise-looking oracle. He presented himself as the Oracle of Freedom. The Oracle spoke to me. He said,

"You are one who wishes to be free; to think for oneself and not Man as a whole, is this not correct?"

"That is correct." I responded.

"The old time before the Priests still exists today. The area outside the rule of the Priests and the Solar Federation – many light years away – is one ruled by democracy, free thinking, and the freedom to work and recreate as one chooses. If you wish to see, I can take you there now. You will see the old and the young working together, free from the oppression and tyranny of the Glorious Red Star." He explained.

"I wish to see this, O great Oracle." I responded. The Oracle then led me far outside the rule of the Solar Federation, past planets that worshipped the Red Star, many light years away.

I see below me the planets of the free. They work with skilled hands, building their cities and monuments to resemble those which they once loved. The Oracle explains to me what has happened here. He tells me that after the Great War, the few remaining with free thought, outnumbered as they were, left the planets that worshipped the Red Star. They went to the planets that I saw that night. The planets were beautifully, with cities as well as skillfully worked fields. Their beauty is far greater than the horrible dirty cities of the Solar Federation. The men and women all work in different trades, and the Oracle explains that they are free to choose their trade.

I tell the Oracle, "Without all this freedom, life in the Federation seems so meaningless!"

The Oracle responds, "Free thinking, independence, and the right to do as one sees fit builds strong societies. The Red Star crushes all of those things, and the power-hungry Priests instead control everything in their own will. I beseech you to outstretch your arms against tyranny, fight the Red Star! Soon, very soon, many will start to think as you are. They will ponder what a great thing independence could be. They will band together, and they will fight for the right the think freely. I see you as the leader in their fight. You will lead the world back into its glorious old time." Just then, I awoke.


	5. Chapter 5

CHAPTER 5

**CHAPTER 5**

I was in my bed. Wiping the sleep from my eyes, I can still see the Oracle's face in my mind. This could not have been a dream! Everything was so _vivid!_ I start to wonder if it was real. It seemed so real to me. I saw the men working their free lands. But I realize that it was nothing more than a dream. The sadness engulfs me. I heave a sigh and sadly smile, and just lay in bed for what felt like hours. My life could be wonderful in that land of the free. I must outstretch my arms against the tyranny of the Red Star as the Oracle said, but how? I am but one man.

The next day I did not arrive at work, I instead went to my cave behind the waterfall. No one would find me there, so I did not risk punishment for my act of missing work. I spent days in the cave. My cave is the only place I can stay that is free from all thoughts and ideas of the Priests and their Plan. As I spend days in the cave, I start to lose my sanity. I speak to myself randomly. My voice quivers with fear and paranoia. I awake in the middle of the night in cold sweats and screaming. My life is horrible here in this world.

In the Plan, it states that weapons are forbidden. It says that weapons were a cause of the downfall of Man in the old time. I ignored this rule, and began crafting a blade out of a small piece of metal I found in the back of the cave. Each day, I sharpen the edge of the metal. Each day, it gets sharper and sharper to a point where finally, if I just touched my finger to the edge, a thin line of blood would drip from my finger.

The despair that I feel and that surrounds me is too great. I cannot handle this life anymore. I grip the blade tightly, and slash it across myself. As my dark red blood spills onto the floor of the cave, I begin to see the Oracle's face again. He is beckoning me to come to him. I am coming. I cannot help but smile, as I enter the realm of dreams permanently, and find peace. My heart is at rest. I pass into death, and death welcomes me with my independence.


	6. Epilogue

EPILOGUE

**EPILOGUE**

Soon after the Freed Man's death, others _did_ begin thinking freely, just as the Oracle foretold. The Free Thinkers were drawn to the waterfall, as their dreams had told them to go there, and they found the Freed Man's body. He became their passed leader. They worshipped his ideas almost as if he were a god. His death became the main drive for their fight. The Free Thinkers' numbers grew, and their secret society became very powerful. So powerful, in fact, that they had started discussing trying to overthrow the Priests and the Solar Federation.

Training for years at night, behind the waterfall, and with guidance from the Oracle in their dreams, the Free Thinkers gained strength. They all had one common goal: avenge their leader and restore independence to the universe. They would achieve their goal no matter what the cost. Their fight was to be against the Priests and their massive armies. The numbers were unknown to the fighters on both sides.

The day finally came when the Free Thinkers stormed the Temples of Syrinx. With their torches, blades, and other weapons crafted secretly behind the waterfall, they attacked and fought bravely. The battle waged on for many years. As new men were born, they were immediately taught how to fight. The Temples were burned, the waterfall was discovered and destroyed, and neither side was winning. Centuries passed and sleep, food, and enjoyment of life were all but gone. No thought was in any mind or heart except to win for their cause.

As the battle waged on this one world, other battles started on the other planets of the Solar Federation. The battles were in support of the Free Thinkers' fight at the heart of the Federation. Reports were made of one side winning or the other winning, but no one really knew who had the better hand.

As the years went by and the populations decreased with the death totals increasing, the war still waged on. Eventually one side became too tired to fight. Fighting for so long, that side eventually surrendered what was left of them. That day, over the Priests' loudspeakers, a message was broadcast:

"_Attention, all planets of the Solar Federation. Attention, all planets of the Solar Federation. Attention, all planets of the Solar Federation. We have assumed control. We have assumed control. We have assumed control."_


	7. Author's Note

AUTHOR'S NOTE

**AUTHOR'S NOTE**

This fanfiction was based on the song _2112_ by Rush. The song is based on the novel _Anthem _by Ayn Rand. In _Anthem_, just as in _2112_, the world is ruled by an oppressive group of people. People are taught to think and work for the better of society. The word "I" is deemed sinful, and it is instead replaced with "We". One man starts to think freely and reinvents the light bulb. When he attempts to share his invention, he is shunned and his discovery is dismissed.

_2112_ was my first song by Rush that I ever heard, and I have to thank my mom for introducing me to it. Its story is one retelling the basic theme of _Anthem_; that independence is a vital thing that should not die from the Earth. _2112_'s signature logo, the Star Man is who I envisioned the main character in this fanfiction as. His arms are outstretched against the Red Star in a symbol of a fight against oppression and tyranny.

To write this fanfiction, I used the 2112 lyrics, notes, meaning as interpreted by others, and the meaning as interpreted by myself. The song and novel it is based on both have very strong messages, and I strongly encourage the reader to read _Anthem_ and listen to _2112_.

The message broadcast over the Priests' loudspeakers at the end of the song/fanfiction is up to the reader to decide whether it is broadcast by the Free Thinkers or the Priests. Did freedom triumph? Or did the power of tyranny prove victorious. That, my friend, is up to _you_ to decide.

--Mike.


End file.
